Labour minister’s Dubai trip & £7.5k flights to meet firm run by Man City owners – at height of club’s ‘cheat’ probe

15 comments 15 Next A CABINET minister held talks with the firm run by Man City’s ­billionaire chairman — just as Premier League chiefs were studying the club’s massive financial breach case. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds met Mubadala Investment Company during the top-secret hearing — and for a second time just six weeks after it concluded. 8 Then-Mayor Andy Burnham speaks to Manchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the Etihad Stadium Credit: Alamy 8 Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds met Mubadala Investment Company during the top-secret hearing Credit: Tayfun Salci Advertisement Mr Reynolds is a key ally of the PM and his fellow Manchester MPs were behind the “Etihad Coup” — named after City’s home stadium — which led to Andy Burnham replacing Sir Keir Starmer . One Conservative MP said: “The Etihad Coup has come back to bite the PM.” Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. Mr Reynolds met Mubadala representatives on a taxpayer-funded trip to Dubai on November 1, 2024. Group chief executive of Mubadala is Khaldoon Al Mubarak , Man City’s long-time chairman. In 2013, Education Secretary and Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell also went on a paid-for jaunt to the Gulf. READ MORE ON MAN CITY SCANDAL CIT DOWN Man City fans BOO Premier League anthem after guilty verdict TIME TO COME CLEAN PM under pressure to reveal full extent of links with Man City's owners Department for Business and Trade records show Mr Reynolds’ trip — which included talks with Gulf trade ministers and Dubai ports giant DP World — was set up “to discuss investment in the UK”. They add that Mr Reynolds’ flights cost £7,596. Six weeks after the Premier League hearing ended, on ­January 21, 2025, Mr Reynolds met Mubadala again on the day he arrived at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Again, the meeting was “to discuss investment opportunities in the UK”. Mr Al Mubarak was also in Switzerland that day. Records do not say if the City chairman was present during his firm’s meeting with Mr Reynolds. Advertisement Most read in Sport MATCH OF THE DATE Beaming MOTD couple Mark & Kelly spotted for the first time together HORROR INJURY Emi Martinez 'to undergo surgery on jaw injury' after sickening head clash KAIS AND LOWS Kai Rooney, 16, makes Man Utd U21s debut but dream night turns into nightmare NO GAIN Inside the 'cult-like' world of Hyrox – plagued by race deaths & bowel blunders Mr Reynolds, MP for Stalybridge and Hyde in Greater Manchester, was removed as Business Secretary in September 2025, but was returned to the key post when Mr Burnham entered No10 in July. He met Mr Al Mubarak there on September 14 to discuss UAE investment in Britain. The talks were a fortnight before the commission’s verdict against City became public. When the news broke that City had been found guilty of more than 100 charges Mr Burnham said he would be “really concerned to lose” the club’s owners. He called them “a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester”. 8 The talks were held in Dubai Credit: Kusska Advertisement 8 Mr Reynolds’ flights, costing almost £8,000, were provided for free Credit: Alamy Stock Photo 8 In 2013, Education Secretary and Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell went on a paid-for jaunt to the Gulf Credit: PA 8 Burnham was twice wined and dined by Mr Al Mubarak at the Etihad while Manchester mayor Credit: Getty Images Mr Reynolds’ links with the Emirates go back more than a decade. In November 2012, he flew to Abu Dhabi and Dubai on a five-day £3,500 trip funded by the UAE government, the Commons register of interests shows. His entry says the visit was to meet ministers and “senior UK and Emirati business figures” and promote trade and investment. Advertisement He was given two Wembley tickets worth £466 by the Football Association for City’s 2023 FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United . The FA gave him two more, worth £338, for the 2024 final against Manchester United . Mr Powell did not deny meeting Mr Al Mubarak but a Department of Business, ­Innovation, Science and Trade spokesman said: “This is a matter between Man City and the Premier League. “The Business Secretary’s meetings were crucial in helping us boost UK investment, jobs and strike a multi-billion-pound free trade deal with the Gulf Co-operation Council.” Andy Burnham has ordered a “manual trawl” of his own dealings with City after an investigation in The Sun. Advertisement He told a podcast he had held only one “significant” meeting with City’s owners, in 2021. But we revealed he was twice wined and dined by Mr Al Mubarak at the Etihad while Manchester mayor. Both dinners were logged on a ­register of interests he signed in December 2020. Details were removed from the Greater Manchester ­Combined Authority (GMCA) website, a move it said was in line with policy. The Sun revealed Mr ­Burnham joined a lunch with “senior representatives” of City Football Group in China in 2018, taking his City meetings tally to at least seven. Two months after the first dinner, the GMCA he chaired approved a £24.5million loan to Manchester Life, a property venture between Manchester City Council and the Abu Dhabi United Group, founded in 2008 to buy Man City. Advertisement 8 City, whose prime playing asset is £190million-rated striker Erling Haaland, have called the Premier League ruling an ‘opinion’ Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 8 Man City deny wrongdoing and are appealing Credit: Getty Earlier this month it was reported City and the Premier League held settlement talks centred on a “sizeable financial payment” rather than relegation or the stripping of titles. The talks “quickly fell apart”, Bloomberg claimed. City, whose prime playing asset is £190million-rated striker Erling Haaland , have called the Premier League ruling an “opinion”. Advertisement The club deny wrongdoing and are appealing. Meanwhile, the Emirati government paid for Ms Powell’s 2013 Gulf jaunt. The close Burnham ally flew to the UAE from March 23 to 26 just four months after ­winning the Manchester Central by-election. The UAE government covered her £3,500 travel and accommodation costs, according to her register entry. She declared it as a visit by the UAE All-Party Parliamentary Group to meet ministers and business figures. Lifelong City fan Ms Powell has been given thousands in terms of hospitality from them, accepting tickets to five City matches in 11 months worth £2,360. Advertisement In 2014, she welcomed a ­£1billion housing deal in her constituency between ­Manchester City Council the Abu Dhabi United Group. A report by lobbying watchdog Spinwatch from 2018 said the UAE had run an “intense ­lobbying campaign” to win over MPs. RECOMMENDED STORIES It quoted a leaked email from a UAE official stating one meeting was “very effective”. It did not mention to which visit the email referred or name Mr Reynolds or Ms Powell. A spokeswoman for Ms Powell said: “As a constituency MP, Lucy has always valued the partnership and investment from the club and others, which has helped transform East ­Manchester from a barren, ­contaminated former industrial wasteland into one of the most desirable, happening places, with new jobs and opportunities for local people, anywhere in the region.” ‘IT’S TIME TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY’ By Alex Burghart, Deputy Tory Leader FROM the moment Andy Burnham started facing questions about his links to Man City’s owners he and his government have sought to dodge scrutiny. Under pressure the PM told the Greater Manchester Authority to publish details of any “significant” meetings he had with the footie club’s proprietors while mayor. It duly released a list — including a reference to a dinner. But it soon emerged there was more than one. Mr Burnham ordered a “manual trawl” of his engagements — but it is unclear if all will be released. And today’s Sun on Sunday revelations about Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds’ meetings pose more questions for him. Mr Reynolds met the City chairman in Downing Street 11 days before news broke that the club had been found guilty on all but one of the many charges against them. What was the purpose of those meetings? What was discussed at them? What was the outcome? If Burnham, Reynolds and the rest of the Cabinet have nothing to hide they have nothing to fear. Give the public details of all the meetings and let us make up our own minds. It is not enough to say blandly that they were about “business investment opportunities” and nothing more. And this is particularly true in the light of the PM’s recent bizarre intervention saying he feared City’s owners leaving the country. Did they threaten Reynolds that they might pull investment from the UK if they were found guilty? And, if so, how did he react? Did he agree to lobby the Premier League for them? Meeting senior figures from the United Arab Emirates is perfectly reasonable. It is an important ally and attracting UK investment is a key role of government. If Mr Reynolds was asked to lobby on its behalf he did not behave wrongly — unless he agreed to do it and now will not admit it. That is what he refuses to clarify. Labour wants to stop detail about the meetings getting out. If that sounds familiar it is because it is. Last PM Sir Keir Starmer did everything he could to stop the truth getting out about his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ­ambassador to the US. He tried concealing the facts and shifted the blame to others. It was a major contribution to his downfall. Mr Burnham has an opportunity to make a break with that record. If he wants voters to believe his ­promises about the future he needs to have their trust. He pitches himself as a straight talker. But he is shaping up to be as untrustworthy as Starmer was. Burnham is not the mayor of Manchester any more — he is the Prime Minister. It is time for him to take responsibility. 15 comments 15